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tv   Starting Point  CNN  October 3, 2012 4:00am-6:00am PDT

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the problem. plus, terrifying video. a boeing 727 crashing in the desert on purpose. joining us live, stephanie cutter, barbara comstock and brett o'donnell. "starting point" begins right now.
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that's why they've been preparing with their debate camps. they will be focusing broadly on all voters but in particular undecided voters who after hearing all the convention speeches and seeing the television ads are trying to make up their minds. for the president that means talking about the economy, how things are still difficult but the economy is i a much better place and heading in a much better direction. for romney it will be talking about the president's failed promises and perhaps a preview of that we saw yesterday with the help of vice president biden while he was out on the campaign trail. he was describing how middle class americans will be hurt under mitt romney. and then he sort of put -- framed their plight over the last four years this way. >> this is deadly earnest. how they can justify, how they
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can justify raising taxes on the middle class has been buried the last four years. how in lord's name can they justify raising taxes with these tax cuts? >> vice president biden just today said that the middle class over the last four years has been, quote, buried. we agree. that means we need to stop digging by electing mitt romney the next president of the united states. of course the middle class has been buried. they're being buried by regulations. they're being buried by taxes. they're being buried by borrowing. they're being buried by the obama administration's economic failures. >> reporter: romney campaign put together a conference call to draw attention, more focus to the comments by the vice
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president. the obama campaign pushed back saying this was just another act of desperation and what the vice president was talking about were -- were situations or a climate that was put in place by the failed policies of the former administration. i'll tell you what, at the very next event during his remarkings, the vice president did touch on the same subject but left out the word buried. soledad? >> walk us through the logistics of tonight. how's it going to run? >> reporter: right. well, first of all, it will focus on the domestic policies, focus on the economy, on health care, on the role of government. it will be a 90-minute debate. six segments of 15 minutes each. one main question per segment and two minutes to answer the question. the rest of the time will be for discussions. that's where we can expect some fireworks, perhaps. and in the audience will be vips, people whose campaigns have invited. both candidates will try not to make any mistakes. >> you think? you think that's what they're
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going to do. dan lothian joins us this morning. other stories making news, believe it or not besides the debate, john berman has that with us. >> american airlines is going to inspect 47 of its boeing 757s after seats came loose in flight on two of its planes within days of each other. they checked 36 planes so far. six had seats not properly secured. american says not all of the seats were loose but they potentially could loosen. they say improperly installed clamps caused the problem. twice on tuesday vice president joe biden's plane had to abort original landing plans. last night air force 2 couldn't land at andrews air base because of fog. yesterday they had to abort plans because of thunderstorms.
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there are 14 victims in all, 13 of them in tennessee, and one in an undisclosed state. the disease is not contagious but investigators are trying to figure out what happened, as you can imagine. former penn state football coach mike mcqueary filed a whistle-blower suit against the university saying he was the only one not invited to interview under o'brien. mcqueary was a key prosecution witness in the sandusky case who testified he saw sandusky in a shower with a young boy. talk about second chances. in miami last night adam greenberg drilled with a fastball in his only major league plate appearance seven years ago. he came back for an at-bat. the at-bat he always wanted. greenberg signed a one-day contract with the marlins before last night's game. he struck out on three pitches, but who cares.
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no matter what greenberg says it was a magical appearance and one official at-bat which means he gets credit for playing a game in a big league, which is a dream of kids all across the country. you have to see this is video. play hard, celebrate harder, right? take a look at this. a hockey playing in junior league in new jersey scores a goal. to celebrate, he jumped into the glass and goes right through it. watch it again here. man. there it was again. luckily, he was wearing all that padding. it protected him. believe it or not, he's fine, walked away, doing well. you see the black shattered -- >> oh, my. he doesn't look like he's moving all that fast. >> looks like a slow skate-up -- >> like high-five. back to our starting point. tonight is debate night between president obama and mitt romney.
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here is a live look at debate hall at university of denver. we'll again with our debate expert, brett o'donnell of o'donnell and associates, he advised mr. romney earlier this year, coached him in what was considered to be his most successful debate in the premarry in the state of florida. >> wouldn't it be nice if people didn't make accusations somewhere else they weren't willing to defend here? >> nice to see you again. not to have you next to us in the studio but great to see you. >> good to see you. >> let's walk through what we can expect tonight. i know you're not coaching either candidate. what would your advice be? mitt romney must do what and not do what? president obama must do what and not do what? >> sure. governor romney has to make the debate about the president's economic policies and he has to connect those to the economic conditions we're in now. right now, people believe the
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economy is bad, but they're not blaming the president for it. tonight governor romney, standing face-to-face with president obam has to connect those two things. he can't get defensive. the president, on the other hand, has to deflect from that. he has to make the debate about the choice between himself and governor romney and press him about specifics. try to make the argument that the -- that governor romney's policies would take us off of a path of recovery we might be on right now. and he can't get defensive as well. both men, when they get into the defensive posture, tend not to do very well in debates. >> what do you think is the most treacherous ground for each of them? what is the thing often -- i'm sure you've studied a zillion hours of debate tapes. what triggers debates in both of them? >> when both get on defense, when they have to defend positions they're uncomfortable with, they tend to get defensive. that's what caused the $10,000
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bet with governor romney and that what caused the moment where president obama, then senator obama, told hillary she was likeable enough. i think both of them, when put on their heels, tend to make mistakes. >> let's play a clip of that from the hillary clinton/barack obama debate. >> he's very likeable. i agree with that. i don't think i'm that bad. >> you're likeable enough, hillary. >> thank you very much. >> so, realistically, what is the impact -- how as a debate prepper do you help someone navigate those moments that just happen as the debate unfolds? >> it's through extensive preparation. you know, the one thing that you can't compensate for is the lack of practice. so both men, i'm sure, have been working extensively to prepare for these moments. you know, the big thing is, to take them through every eve
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eventuality as much as possible and also get them mentally prepared. it's those mental lapses when they're not focused. keem them focused through the entire 90 minutes. the mental lapses cause mistakes like that. >> we've heard governor romney is practicing zingers. we've been told by the obama campaign they're going to focus more on stance. can you practice zingers? whenever i hear someone say they're going to practice that moment, it feels -- isn't the whole point of a moment to be a real moment? >> yeah, i think so. i'm not sure that, you know, that's actually the case. i can't imagine governor romney going up and doing a comedy routine. my guess is they've been working substance. senator portman's an excellent sparring partner and will focus him on substance. he'll have him ready tonight. the thing you have to do in the debate -- that's what the first line you played from mitt romney, crystallize and capture
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the mind of the audience and press, one moment. that line he was able to successfully deliver disarmed newt gingrich over the issue of taxes and releasing taxes and transparency. that's what governor romney is, i'm sure, working on tonight. and the president as well. finding a moment where they can crystallize the debate into one line and capture the imagination of the press and the audience. >> brett o'donnell, alleges nwa to talk to you. we'll talk on the other side of the debate. appreciate your time. >> you're going to be doing fact-checking at the debate. >> a rapid response fact check on both candidates what they say, we'll check it. if the campaign is any indication, it wille quite busy. >> i bet you will be. >> more than the stump speech stuff. we've heard so much about the economy in the stump speech. where there be real moments? if you're practicing, practicing, what are the real moments we'll get to see? >> you just had brett o'donnell,
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what's fascinating he was a key player in preparing mitt romney in a couple of debates where he did very, very well in the primary, maybe saved his candidacy -- >> south carolina was a disaster and he came in at that point and then he made florida really, many people thought that was the high-water mark for his debating. >> he's not involved with mitt romney now. that's interesting to me. >> we've had him on the show since then stalking sorpt t of about that. that was an interesting story after that. some people felt he took too much credit for the debate prep. you know what i think is interesting in this whole thing is, how do you navigate the preparation, being overprepared, zingers that don't zing, sounding too sound bity and not substance -- >> george bush in 2000, one thing he did on debate day, he got a massage. all the time before cramming, he would relax -- >> maybe you should get a massage. >> you can watch complete coverage and analysis, along with the fact-checking of the
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candidates, right here on cnn and cnn.com. all starts at 7 p.m. eastern. still ahead this moing on "starting point," 30 0-pound nfl stars, they say the new uniforms maybe them feel tubby and fat. it's our "get real" this morning. the housing market, you guys, it might be finally recovering here. why bald is beautiful. that's right. bald is beautiful in the business world. questions? anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues
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come on, you gotta help us out here a little. [ male announcer ] febreze eliminates odors and leaves carpets fresh. ♪ [ male announcer ] febreze. eliminates odors and leaves carpets fresh. ♪ welcome back. u.s. futures unchanged. stocks not that far from five-year highs. weak economic data from china but we're waiting for friday's big jobs report. cnn economists expect 110 jobs were added in september. the jobless ra rate likely steady at 8.1%. the housing market is turning a corner. new data from core logic show
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home prices are rising faster than expected. home prices were up 4 .6% in august compared with a year ago. majority of economists surveyed by cnn analysts say home prices have already turned higher or will turn higher later this year. that is an improvement from just three months ago when only half thought this would happen some time in 2013. guys, gentlemen, listen up. if you're up for a promotion, you might want to consider a power buzz. a recent study by the wharton school in pennsylvania found men with shaved heads are perceived to be more masculine and dominant, and in some cases better leaders. in one test they were perceived about an inch taller and 13% stronger than same-sized men with hair. >> if i were a man -- >> that is false. >> balderdash, he says. >> i'm fact-checking the debate, and i say that's false. >> 13% stronger and handsomer
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and all those other things. he'll come in tomorrow with a shiny michael jordan haircut. >> ali velshi commissioned that study. >> imagine you're on a plane, you're strapped in, your seat starts wobbling and comes loose. american airlines is inspecting boeing 757s as seats came loose on two planes. they've taken a look at 36 planes. six planes had seats not properly secured. american says not all seats were loose but they had the potential they could loosen. the airline is blaming improperly installed clamps. brings us to george howell, following developments on that story from atlanta. good morning. >> soledad, good morning. you described it. for passengers on these flights it came down to this. you start the flight in one row of seats. by the time the plane takes off and lands, you find yourself on the row back behind you. now, no passengers were injured
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on these flights but, no doubt, it is bad pr for this already struggling airline, not to mention the safety issues. issues that american airlines promises to fi >> reporter: it's happened on three separate flights with passengers on board. twice on the same plane. entire rows of seats came loose on american airlines 757s. and according to this passenger, who did not want to be identified -- >> the seats flipped backwards. it was actually a complete nightmare. and so people were essentially on the laps of the passengers behind them. >> reporter: american airlines says the root cause of the problem came down to clamps that were installed backwards. it's the latest in a series of setbacks for the airline, which filed for bankruptcy nearly a year ago. and has been battling recently with its major unions over contract terms. the union points the finger to outsourced maintenance work as the reason for the problem. david campbell with american
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airlines says crews are getting to the bottom of it. >> guys who work every single day, engineers, tech crew chiefs, who have gone in, they believe -- they've determined what they believe is the -- is a potential failure, but beyond the failure, we're focusing our attention on making sure they're properly installed. >> reporter: it prompted an inspection on nearly half of american airlines' 757s, seats were first pulled out and reinstalled in a plan to give passengers more leg room. 36 planes have been inspected, with 11 yet to be inspected. they discovered a total of six planes with the same problem. campbell dismissed the idea that the loose seats could somehow be linked to the ongoing labor dispute. >> i have a difficult time believing that it was -- that it's actually because -- i just don't believe it is. >> reporter: as american airlines promises to fix the problem, many passengers we
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spoke with say that while the issue with loose seats is troubling, it doesn't necessarily shake their confidence in the airline. >> seems kind of trivial. >> i'm a frequent flier, so it's -- it would be hard to change. i would have to look into that to see if they took care of it. >> reporter: instead, passengers say it's the flight delays and cancellations. about 12,000 flights delayed just in the past month and more than 1,000 flights canceled. that could make loyal customers like carl think twice. >> if the current labor process drags on and current flight delays, that could change my mind. >> i want to point out interesting timing here. just as american airlines came forward, front and center on this story, we got word the pilots union agreed to resume contract negotiations with the airline. american airlines says, it is committed to work with the apa, the airline association, to find a solution that works for everyone. a bit of good news after this story broke. >> after a string of really
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tough news for american airlines. george howell updating. still ahead this morning on "starting point," everybody says, does this make me look fat? it might surprise you some of the bigger, and i mean bigger, 300-pounder defensive linemen in the nfl are complaining that they are the victims of a fashion change. we'll complain in our "get real," we're heading in to talk about that and much more. roland martin will join us and michael crowley is our guest. we're back in a moment. [ male announcer ] what can you experience in a seat?
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welcome back to "starting point". a rash of burglarying plaguing lawmakers on capitol hill.
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five congress members have reported break-ins at their office since april. the latest victim, mike mcintyre. police say between august 3rd and september 11th someone broke into his office and stole three bottles of scotch, three presidential easter eggs, two bottles of cologne and two cuff links. he likes to dress well and smell good. in space no one can hear you scream but no one ever said anything about singing. that sound is apparently the planet earth. nasa says the chorus is called by plasma waves in earth's radiation belts. earth sings very nicely, it turns out, soledad. >> it just sounds weird. >> you don't like earth's singing voice? >> i don't know i believe it. our team, michael crowley, deputy washington bureau chief
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from "time" magazine, roland martin "host of washington watch with roland martin," and art cain. this may be my favorite story of the entire day. the 300-pound men on the football field, not to knock over opponents with their sheer size. starting guards thinks they're fashion victims. the nfl changed jerseys from reebok, a more generous cut, to nike, with a more body-contour fit, shows off your physique if you're tom brady or reggie bush but not so good if you're 3 300-pounder, alex boone, weighs 300 plus pounds, says he hates the jerseys. he says it makes him look fat and have love handles. he said, my wife says, it makes
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you look like you ate a small baby. >> i'm glad did you this story. i was at the houston texan game on sunday and i was sitting there going, that jersey look a little tight. i was going -- -- you're absolutely right. all the linemen, they look cra compared to the other jerseys where the numbers are much larger. >> i would never call one of these linemen fat to their face. >> good move. >> if you're 375 pounds, which some of these guys are, i'm not sure it's the jersey. >> no, no -- >> we were under a misconception before that you were actually in the shape of andre johnson. >> some is the fabric. the fabric is the micro -- my kids have this -- >> it's slimming on a 375-pound -- >> it's not just the linemen. some line backers, 240, i've heard some complaining as well the numbers are bunched up to their chest versus a full look. >> is this like spanx, the same kind of material --
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>> have you worn spanx? >> no, i'm trying -- >> now it's completely understood. >> way to go! there you go. >> you're wearing them now, tell me, do you feel -- >> they used to call them girdles but now they call them spanx. >> first of all, give these big guys a shot, all you slim fit -- >> thank you. >> i was working the good looking look. bottom line, i'm with these fellows. nike, you need to do better because the bunched number doesn't work. >> nike says they make a lot of different sizes. maybe people should move up a size. >> tell that to the coach. >> you can have the numbers up around your neck. >> i do feel sorry for them. >> if you're a 400-pound pro football lineman, don't be self-conscious, just win the super bowl. send us a quick video, 20 seconds total, calling it my endpoint, go to cnn.com/startingpoint.
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still ahead this morning on "starting point" a woman goes surfing but not on a board. now she could pay for it. plus a tv anchor is stoeld by a viewer she's too big to be a good role model for girls, so she fights back in a video that goes viral. mitt romney is under pressure to score a debate win against president obama. will he come out the strong and likeable type? we'll talk to one of his strongest supporters straight ahead this morning. on you're watching "starting point." and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety.
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[ male announcer ] gly nimble, ridiculously agile, tight turning, fun to drive 2013 smart. ♪ welcome back. you're watching "starting point." tonight it is a prime time showdown a debate coach is calling the most consequential in american history when president obama and governor romney meet in a hall in denver. in less than 14 hours they'll be focusing on domestic policy and the economy. it's happening as a brand new cnn poll of polls shows the president maintaining a
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three-point lead with less than a month to go in the race. joining us is republican congressman jason from the great state of utah. how are you feeling tonight? >> good morning. >> when is the last time you spoke to mitt romney, the candidate, and how is he doing? >> it's been a little time with him last week. i haven't seen him today but i have been with him during the primary season before debates. you know, when you spend that hour sitting in the holding room, it's interesting to see how they reacted. mitt romney's a real cool character. loosy goose. you know, 15, 16 people sitting in the room, just chatting about various things. i think it will probably be very similar tonight. >> let's run through what some of the morning papers, op-eds, especially conservative feedback has been. ross -- he wrote an op-ed in the new york times and he says, the assumption the wealthy republican candidate is inevitably a candidate for the wealthy as well is a big part of what's been killing romney's
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campaign. because of the president's advantages with minority voters and young voters, romney has always needed to perform well with economically anxious whites and above all with noncollege educated and has been underperforming. how does he tonight turn that around? >> well, this is really one of the very first times he gets in an unfettered way to be able to explain that he's not there to try to do what that gentleman suggests but there to create opportunity and move the entire country forward. that's why he's running. i've been to more than 100 events in small private settings, bigger halls. i have to tell you, he does connect with people, he has a vision about this country, he's about competency and making this country move forward, the economics of this country, getting people back to work. that's what i think he'll be abe to share against the president in a way sharing a vision for the country and, you know, challenging the president's
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record. >> george will in "the washington post" has this op-ed, and essentially he says he thinks president obama is ahead because he's black and says instead the nation which is generally reluctant to declare a president a failure, thereby giving up on the first african-american president. if so the 2012 election speaks well of its heart if not its head. do you agree with that? seems to me he's saying president obama is ahead because he's black. that's given him a great advantage. >> i wouldn't say that. have i the greatest respect for george will and the way he writes things is very eloquent. i wouldn't say that. i think mitt romney needs to show he's presidential. people want a change. the people knows it's off track. if you have to list out what he needs to accomplish tonight, he needs to show he's presidential. what ronald reagan did with jimmy carter, he stood occupy the stage and you saw the two gentlemen side by side and you
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recognized, i think this person could be the president. maybe he should be the president. i don't think mitt romney has to, quote/unquote, win this debate. he just needs to show he's presidential, show he's compassionate and i think that will shine through tonight. >> i think what you're laying out is a bunch of contradictions. have you to be aggressive but also presidential. have you to be humble but make sure that everyone can understand the respect for your -- i mean, that is a huge challenge. >> i think mitt romney has a tight rope to walk. i would ask the congressman, how do you do it? we know this, one of the major currencies in this debate is likability. winning these bates has lost, impacted presidential elections, nixon or al gore. what those candidates lost on is likability. how do you take an aggressive tone? how do you go after the president on his record without coming off course? how do you be the likeable guy? >> yeah. well, mitt romney just needs to be mitt romney. i don't think that's a contradiction. but i do think it is somewhat of a tight rope. have you to find the right and proper balance.
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now, mitt romney went through 19 debates in the primary season. going through that, you know, people said, oh, he had trouble connecting. i didn't buy that at all. he connected better than anybody else. i think he does do that. if mitt's just mitt, he's going to just fine. >> nice to see you, sir. thanks for being with us. >> thanks, soledad. at the top of the hour we'll talk to stephanie cutter, deputy manager for the obama campaign. she'll be joining us. you can watch complete coverage and analysis of the first presidential debate which starts here tonight, 7 p.m. eastern right here on cnn and cnn.com. other stories making news, and john berman has those for us. good morning. >> other campaign news. victory this morning for opponents of pennsylvania's new voter identification law. a judge has temporarily blocked a key component of this law. voters will not have to show a state-approved photo i.d. in order to cast a ballot in next month's presidential election. supporters of the law say it's sdintd to prevent fraud at the polls.
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at $165 million, it's a steal. the obama administration has decided to buy an empty illinois state prison, once considered for relocating guantanamo bay prisoners. it will house high-security federal inmates and alleviate overcrowding in other prisons. officials say it will not be used for guantanamo detainees, which is prohibited by law. american teenagers are getting the message, drinking and driving don't mix. a new study shows cases of drunk driving among teenagers fell 54%. good news. >> i wonder what those numbers are for texting? i bet that's on the rise. turns out hitching a ride on amman atee is illegal in the sunshine state. a florida woman says she had no idea doing this was against the law. it is. you can't do it. she could face a $500 fine and
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up to 60 days behind bar. florida law protects manatees from alleged abuse. sheriffs released this photo to track down the woman and she turned herself in. we also have another video going viral this morning. a tv news anchor fights back against a nasty e-mail from a viewer who says she's a poor role model for girls because she's fat. jennifer livingston who works at news 8 in wisconsin calls it a lesson on bullying. >> and here is where i want all of us to learn something from this. if you didn't already know, october is national antibullying month. and this is a problem that is growing every day in our schools and on the internet. >> that was just a portion of the video. livingston took that nasty viewer to task for four minutes. four minutes she went off on her. >> i think i might be in love with jennifer livingston. good for her. i'm going to start doing that with my -- today i want to respond to -- look at her. that was so good. >> when i respond to folks,
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soledad's like, did you hit them back on twitter? you have to -- >> don't do it on twitter. do it on tv. >> did she call them? you should say, i have an e-mail for so and so and then put it online. >> good for you, jennifer. i support you. that's a great lesson. i'm going to leave a section at the end of the show for that. >> are you talking about soledad's shoes? get at them, soledad. take a look at this picture. a terrible plane crash. it's not an accident. it was actually planned in the name of science, trying to prove if you could survive a catastrophe just like this. people behind the fiery experiment will join us to talk about what they learned. an emotional ann romney talks about a ritual her husband will prepare before the presidential debate.
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i'm barack obama and i approve this message. romney: "it's time to stand up to the cheaters" vo: tough on china? not mitt romney. when a flood of chinese tires threatened a thousand american jobs... it was president obama who stood up to china and protected american workers. mitt romney attacked obama's decision... said standing up to china was "bad for the nation and our workers." how can mitt romney take on the cheaters... when he's taking their side? on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt.
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welcome back, everybody. you're watching "starting point". ann romney says her husband has a routine before he walks on the stage, before any political debate, he takes his watch off, puts it on the podium, find where she's sitting and writes the word "dad" on a piece of paper. she told gloria borger why. >> he loves his dad, respects his dad. doesn't want to do anything that would not make his father proud. >> mitt romney's father, of course, george romney, was the governor of michigan. he ran for the presidency back in 1968. first lady michelle obama also talking about the debate. last night she told jessica yellen in an exclusive interview she'll object pin and needles the entire time. listen. >> i get so nervous at these debates. and, you know, i'm like one of
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those parents watching their kid on the balance beam, you're just standing there, just trying not to, you know, have any expression at all. >> it's true. every time you get camera shot, have you to -- >> you don't to want roll your eyes. >> first lady says she doesn't give the president very much advice before a debate because she says he's a solid debater. she told him to relax and have fun. tonight is their 20th anniversary. >> when george h.w. bush was getting a little impatient with the watch, that was a blunder, and replayed over and over, so maybe get the watch out of the way -- >> first lady is giving him debate tip brs. >> i definitely think have you to kind of be mindful that everybody's watching every moment. they'll go back and find the moment. i thought that watch thing, right -- you have to see where you are, pace yourself. but if you are caught on camera -- >> a sigh. >> you think it's about
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high-minded substance? how many times do you check your watch? >> it's about both, don't you. >> reptile brain, 80% of it. i think -- i think about the debates you remember. it's reptile brain moments, conflict, it's a witty one-liner -- >> there have been great moments where they eventually lost the debate. >> did you sigh, did you look at your watch, did you look sweaty against john f. kennedy. that's what we talk about. >> and your responses. i don't believe jim lehr will allow candidates to throw stuff out there, not offer some kind of specifics. so if you try to dance around it, that's going to be a problem. >> still ahead this morning on "starting point" we'll talk more about that. also, take a look at a terrible plane crash. it was intentional crash. scientists were trying to prove if you couldurvive a catastrophe like this. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.
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and welcome back to "starting point," everyone. stories we're talking about this morni morning, a lot of iphone 5 owners unhappy with the camera on their new device. they're complaining about a burst of purple showing up in photos. e-mail from apple support team suggests users try to angle the camera away from the bright light. turn away from the light! school district in florida may install cameras on lunch room trash cans to catch students tossing their fruits and vegetables. lake county school board is considering this move since neufeld rules force kids to have healthier lunches. they're watching what you eat, soledad. >> john, thank you very much. enormous boeing 727 plane
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crashes in the desert. pictures are amazing. it's an absolutely devastating crash. it's all caught on video. let's play it. >> unbelievable. the crash was actually a controlled experiment. it was all done by remote control part of the discovery channel's new "curiosity" series, captured nearly 40 specialized cameras and sensors, trying to give researchers a closer look as to what happens when the plane actually crashes. accident investigator and survivability expert -- i didn't know that was a job -- and professor at wayne state university. great to have you.
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thanks for talking with us. it took you four years to create the moment that became the plane crash. why don't you talk to me first about why it took so long and what were you trying to prepare? >> a lot of things we had to kind of plan and prepare for. we got the first call about four years ago. we worked very closely with discovery channel to determine what experiments we wanted to perform. we had to figure out what plane, where to actually crash, the crash site. there's just a lot that goes into this logistically. four years, i think, from start to finish, but there was a lot to plan and prepare for. >> dr. barth, i mentioned about the cameras. walk us through what you did before the plane crashing in the desert. >> from the very start we had to outfit the plane with accelerometers. there are a lot of unknowns. when you have the unique experience of crashing a plane in a real environment -- it's
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not a laboratory. you're catching this in a completely naturalistic environment. you don't know -- there's a lot of things. you don't know exactly how it's going to go. we set up everything and then as the pilots and parachuters were planning their execution, we had to hope that what they said they were going to do would come in and all work right. you'll see in the show a lot of stuff went wrong. >> dr. barth, i have to say, i've been somewhat fatalistic when i ride an airplane. why put on a seat belt? come on. no one is surviving this crash but that's not true. you say people survive plane crashes at an incredibly high rate? >> most people survive plane crashes and most plane crashes are survivable. >> because of where they've chosen to do, where they've chosen to sit? why do they survive? >> a whole lot of factors go into that, but part of it is being aware of where your exits
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are and what you're going to do to survive. some are dependent on the crash. the first ten rows were destroyed. >> oh, first class. >> sit in the way back. >> cindy measured the potential for injury on some actual simulated occupants on board. at the front it was more severe sw it got less in the back. >> where do you sit? what do you do when you get on a plane? i fly all the time and this is making me very anxious, honestly. >> sit down, have a plan. look at where your exit rows are. first class for our particular crash was obliterated. that's not every crash. when the crash does actually happen our crash dummies showed that the brace position was the best position to be in, low risk of injury. after the crash occurs, keep calm. try not to panic. >> how do you get your job?
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you got in a lot of trouble or stuff? survivability expert? what's the deal? >> i've always been interested in mechanical things and stuff like that. i always wanted to see the big picture. throughout my career i was always backing up. instead of working on the widget, i wanted to see the whole vehicle. so in the end i'm watching the planes crash. >> good news is that crashes are way down, airlines have never been safer than they are right now. >> silver lining. >> yeah. >> low probability. even though first class was obliterated. i don't sit in first class. airplane accidents are exceedingly rare. >> and you're the survivability expert. >> comfortability is worth it. >> it premieres on the discovery channel sunday night at 9:00 pm eastern. still ahead on "starting point," speaking of flying in not such great conditions, seats coming loose on american
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airlines planes. what's the survivability of that? the airline this morning now says they know the cause. also a big health scare at a big city hospital. doctors are now rushing to try to trace the source of a deadly form of meningitis. hours before president obama and governor romney face off for the first time in prime time, you had heard from the romney camp earlier this morning. stephanie cutter, deputy manager from the obama campaign will join us to talk about their strategy. ac=u.lt'p/wlñkñ0k9%"@n ♪ nope. [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft is so soft you'll have to remind your family they can use less. charmin ultra soft is made with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent. plus you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. don't worry, there's plenty left for you dad. we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft?
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morning. welcome, everybody. will tonight's face-off change the momentum of the presidential race? campaign manager stephanie cutter is our guest and mitt romney's senior adviser barbara comstock will join us. gunned down near a major
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drug corridor. an intense manhunt is under way in very tough terrain. fighting back, a tv anchor blasts back at a viewer e-mail who says she's a bad role model because she's fat. >> do not let your self worth be developed by bullies. >> or a bad e-mail. michael crowley is with us, from time magazine. roland martin is with us. will you stop? host of washington watch. what are you, the queen? >> waving to all the people watching. >> will cain is from the blaze.com. no need to wave. >> we go way back.
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>> countdown to the presidential debate, 13 hours. president obama, governor mitt romney will face off at the university of denver. domestic policy and the economy will top the agenda. republicans are hoping that their candidate can shaek things up with a presidential performance because he's trail big three points in the cnn poll of polls. what should we be watching for this morning, dan? >> reporter: domestic policy will be the focus. that's the economy, health care reform, the role of government. it's a 90-minute debate. six segments, 15 minutes each. the first question, one main question per segment and then two minutes for the first answer. the rest of the time will be for discussion. two things we'll be watching for, potentially two liabilities for the candidates. president obama sometimes content to give very long-winded answers. you've heard the campaign talk about this. he will try to deliver very concise answers. for governor romney, if you've watched past debates, he will
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get agitated when his back is against the wall. his hands will flail. he may want to contain his hands during the debate. it's important what these candidates say during the debate but it's also important what the camera sees, soledad. >> we were just talking about that. outside of the debate the vice president has been creating a little bit of a distraction. this always reminds me of your piece, john, of what's a distraction, taking the focus off the main conversation with what happened yesterday. what happened? >> reporter: that's right. he was out there on the campaign trail, talking about the impact on the middle class under a mitt romney administration. and he was describing their plight over the last four years this way. take a listen. >> this is deadly earnest. how they can justify -- how they can justify raising taxes of the middle class that's been buried the last four years. how, in lord's name, can they justify raising their taxes?
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>> vice president biden just today that the middle class, over the last four years, has been, quote, buried. we agree. that means we need to stop digging by electing mitt romney the next president of the united states. of course the middle class has been buried. they're being buried by regulations. they're being buried by taxes. they're being buried by borrowing. they're being buried by the obama administration's economic failure failures. >> reporter: the romney campaign put together a conference call to drum away attention of the vice president's comments, the obama campaign saying that was another act of desperation. what he was talking about were the economic conditions created by the previous administration. but i can tell you, obviously,
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this was a mistake because at the next event for the vice president, he was talking about the same themes, but he left out that word buried, soledad. >> dan lothian, thank you, dan. deputy manager for the obama campaign, stephanie cutter. nice to see you. good morning to you. are you there? i'm looking for stephanie cutter. i think we're having a little bette of a technical difficulty. >> yes. >> there you are. nice to see you, stephanie. >> i'm here. >> and i'm here, so we can start. how are you feeling about going into the debate tonight? i know the president has missed some of the scheduled debate practices because of news events. how do you feel about it? >> well, we're excited about it. we're excited about it for a number of different reasons. this is the first time the american people will be seeing these two candidates stand by
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side by side. the president has had to cut back some of his prep because of his job as president. that's typical for any incumbent. we also know by looking at past debates and past campaigns challengers win more often than not that first debate. of course, we know that mitt romney is a champion debater in his own words. some of his biggest surrogates, chris christie declared victory before the debate even happened. >> stephanie cutter, prop up the other person because we can change the expectations. >> we're using their words. >> i hear you. some said that the format will benefit the president actually because he tends to go long. is that true? >> well, you know, we've been working on shorter answers, but, yes, if there's a critique of the president, it's that this format -- i think that both of these guys are going to come to the debate prepared.
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i think that expectations are probably working a little bit against us and more for mitt romney right now. at the end of the day, i think that the winner is going to be declared by the american people based on what these two candidates say and who lays out a vision for the future. some specifics and policy details. the president has been having this conversation with the american people for some time. this is what we spent our convention doing, laying out where we've been as a country, the values that drive the president, where he wants to go in the future. i think what's been missing with mitt romney is exactly that, those details, those policies of where he wants to take this country. i think tonight offers an opportunity for him to fill some of that in. >> if you listen to his surrogates, they'll say and he's going to take that opportunity. if you look at, for example, cnn's poll of polls, you see the race tightening a little bit with president obama at 49% for
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likely voters choice for president and romney at 46%. last cnn polling before this poll came out had the president up by six points. are you concerned about that? >> no. i think what we saw was a bump out of our convention. this race is going to be tight right up to the very end. it's the way we've always seen this race going. as long as i've been on this campaign for the past year, i've always thought up until the very end it's going to be a very, very close race and the debates will have a lot to do with t mitt romney has the opportunity to completely change the dynamic. mitt romney surrogates have been saying he will put out details, but the question is, what details? on his $5 trillion tax cut, paul ryan said just yesterday and got criticized by one of their own supporters, they didn't have time to go through the math to show how they're going to pay for it. well, tonight they'll have 90 minutes and they should go
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through that math. >> let's talk about the middle class for a moment. it's been called now a distraction. >> yes. >> the vice president, we played it a minute ago when i was interviewing dan lothian. >> i heard. >> you know what he said, the middle class being buried. and the republicans jumped on that. was that a big mistake on the part of the vice president? >> no. but you know what the republicans are really god at? they're really god at jumping on distractions, jumping on comments taken out of context. the vice president has been saying and has been saying on the trail for some time. the middle class because of the policies of the past were punished and right now the last thing we should do is go back to those same policies. unfortunately, that's what mitt romney and paul ryan are promising to do. the middle class was punished by tax cuts that went to the top paid for by the middle class. that's what they're promising to do now. they were punished by wall
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street, putting taxpayers on the hook for bailing them out. the vice president is saying we made progress. we're on a path to rebuild an economy with the middle class at its core. we know how to do it. we can do it again. the last thing we should do is go back to the same policies that crashed the economy and punished the middle class in the first place. >> hopelessness because of poverty. sean hannity said these are controversial thing that is the media never reported on. of course, we covered that and britt hume did, too. they didn't have any, quote, involvement in disseminating that 2007 video, very old story coming back. who do you think is responsible for that? >> i think allies to mitt romney are responsible and the romney
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campaign should stand up and do the same -- the right thing and say it was the wrong thing to do. mitt romney has been taking heat now for weeks about the comments behind closed doors. already public released speech that the president gave five years ago where he was talking about the reaction to hurricane katrina and the inadequate reaction to hurricane ka treena. it's an interesting strategy by mitt romney and his allies that they want to defend the bush administration response. >> it sounds like you're saying -- >> it's a weird strategy. >> it sounds like you're saying -- >> i'm not saying mitt romney is responsible or the romney campaign is responsible. i do think it's allies to that campaign and they have the responsibility to stand up and say it was wrong. >> stephanie cutter, while she
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was talking, she had a spanish language reporter next to her. can you hear that noise? there was a plane flying by and a chopper over her head. so, thank you, stephanie, for dealing with those distractions as well. >> and it's cold out. >> and it's freezing cold. going to warm up, though. cnn, of course, will have complete coverage of tonight's debate that starts at 7:00 pm eastern right here on cnn and cnn.com. john berman has other stories making news. american airlines going to inspect 47 of its boeing 757s after seats came loose in flight on two of its planes within days of each other. they've checked 36 planes so far. six had seats that were not properly secured. american says not all the seats were loose but could potentially loosen. improperly installed clamps is what caused the problem they y say. health officials investigating cases of meningitis in tennessee. both of them received steroid injections at nashville medical facility which has now been
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closed. 14 victims in all, 13 in tennessee and one in an undisclosed state. the disease is not contagious but investigator are trying to figure out aexactly what happened. mike mcqueary has filed a whistleblower suit against the university. they say he was the only coach not called to interview to work under the new head coach. a key prosecution witness in the sandusky case who testified that he saw sandusky in a shower with a young boy. only major league plate appearance seven years ago. last night adam greenberg got a second chance for the at-bat that he always wanted. he signed a one-day deal for the marlins before the game. he calls it a magical experience since he now has one official at-bat, he officially gets credit for a game played.
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congratulations to him. a hockey player in junior league in new jersey scores a goal and then look what he does to celebrate. jumps through the glass! the player fell clear through into the benches of the posing team. no one was hurt. including him. you can see him get up and walk away there. >> he's not even skating very fast. you're going really fast, smash into the glass. >> now he scored on national tv. >> adam greenberg story is great. a lot of players have been beaned and never been able to come back. >> it was like the field of dreams. he never had an official at-bat. now he will always be a major league player after what happened last night. innocent bystander? why an eighth grader who never
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threw a punch was suspended after a fight o a school bus. it's our tough call this morning. we'll talk to the chief deputy about their investigation. [ woman ] it's 32 minutes to go time, and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well.
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recovering. ivy was assigned to the brian terry border patrol station, named after the agent whose 2010 death was linked to that botched u.s. fast and furious operation in guns that were smuggled to mexico. the acting sheriff of cochise county, where that shooting took place. thanks for talking with us. >> it's my pleasure. >> appreciate that. what details do you know about this attack? three border agents tripped signal. what happened exactly? >> a lot of the details are still emerging. we don't have a clear picture at this time. the scene of this event was in a really rugged area, very hilly. really rugged terrain. they've had the helicopter and the technicians to process the scene. what we do know is approximately 1:45 in the morning while responding to the sensor
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activation in that area, which is a very active smuggling area, the three agents came under gunfire. of course, agent nicholas ivy lost his life. a second agent was wounded and, fortunately, the third agent escaped unharmed. >> the second agent who was wounded and the third agent who escaped unharmed, have they been able to give you good details and context about exactly what happened? >> yes. they've been interviewed. i don't have the details of those interviews. this is an ongoing investigation. we're conduct iing a cooperativ investigation, a joint investigation with the federal bureau of investigation. and as time goes by, more details will emerge. a lot of it is still pretty fuzzy. >> their response was to a trigger triggered sensor that went off near naco. are there cameras there? do you think there will be an opportunity down the road to really be able to fully flesh
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out what exactly happened? >> the border patrol does have cameras down close to the border, but this was approximately five miles north of the border. in very rugged terrain and there won't be any camera footage of any of this event, i'm afraid. >> senator chuck grassley said this. there's no way to know at this point how the agent was killed but because of operation fast and furious, we'll wonder for years if the guns used in any killing along the border were part of an ill-advised gun-walking strategy sanctioned by the federal government. he said that on tuesday. do you think, in fact, there is a good chance that the gun that was used to kill this border agent were walked across the border, in fact, or is he just guessing? >> well, i can't eliminate the possibility. but at this point, it would simply be speculation. >> what happens next in your investigation? when will you be able to give everyone a detailed and defined description of what happened that night? >> well, the crime scene itself
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is still being processed. they hope to finish that later on today. once we are able to gather all the information gathered at the crime scene and compare that with the interviews of the agents, we may have a better picture of exactly what occurred. >> what a terrible tragedy, certainly, for border patrol agent nicholas ivy's family. our condolences go out to his family and all his colleagues. chief deputy rodney rothrock with the coc hichlt se sheriff's office. we appreciate your time. middle school student is suspended because of a fight on a school bus. a fight he was not involved in, but he recorded it on his phone. should he have gotten a punishment? it's our tough call.
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welcome back to "starting point." i'm christine romans, minding your business. fallen some 40% this week, according to numerous reports because international sanctions are having an effect now on iran's economy. international news agents report that mahmoud ahmadi nechlt jad is urging citizens not to trade their currency for u.s. dollars. the jobless rate was steady at 8.1%. adp report. bald is not only beautiful but parently powerful, too.
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recent study by pennsylvania's school shows that men with shaven heads seem to be more dominant and in some cases better leaders. men with shaved heads were also perfe perceived to be an inch taller and about 13% stronger than same sized men with hair. one, two, three. >> the kojak institute. >> my husband has a shaved head. >> does sne. >> do you find him strong? >> my strong, powerful, manly -- 13%. >> build him up. build him up. let's get right to our tough call this morning. eighth grade student in georgia got suspended for five days because of a fight. there we go. there's the graphic. fight. roll the fight. we have video of this fight between two teenage girls on the school bus. kid was not involved but was rolling on his camera, his cell
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phone. the faculty then confiscated his phone and he was told he would have to sign a discipline report and delete the video if they wanted to git get his phone back. and his parents completely agreed. no. that would be sane. they called the local station in atlanta and makes the school then change their strategy. they returned the phone, removed the incident from his disciplinary record. let me read to you about why this young man said he needed this phone. say i go to basketball practice tomorrow and i feel dehydrated and i'm about to pass out after practice, i don't have a phone to contact my parents or if i stay after school for tutoring, i can't call them to let them know to pick me up. >> it's a miracle that the human race survived until cell phones showed up. until that, people were passed out everywhere, locked in rooms, dehydrating.
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>> this highlights the stupidity of school policy. first of all, there is no good when a student is at home. >> in-school suspension. >> that's better. when you say suspension -- >> i support t why are they changing their mind? a kid who shoots on his camera phone, two girls fighting on the bus, even though he's not in the fist fight, i think that's bad. i think he should be punished. >> if he shot the video and one of the girls was injured and we now have the video because of it, exactly why is shooting the video cause for suspension? were the girls fighting suspended? >> the policy should be you should get the bus driver to pull over and break up the fight. >> the video serves as good evidence to be a remedial tool in the future. >> do you think he's egging the thing on, to be a remedial measure in case it comes later to be an investigation? >> did he upload it to facebook or youtube? >> i think he was trying to. before he was able to, they
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stopped him. what happened to the day when the parents would say, that is wrong? they support the school. i think the school is right. >> why is it wrong? >> the fight should be -- the goal should be not to videotape a fight. >> why? >> because i think efforts should be put into stopping the fight. you've seen this every time we roll any video of people fighting. people are videotaping and essentially what they're doing by their presence is egging it on. i know you're saying he -- acting as if i'm getting evidence for later. >> supposedly they were in a fight and what if they got hurt? >> we don't need to videotape every evidence of bad conduct and put it on youtube. this is just what kids do now. >> and they should be suspended for it. >> and you're going to pass out, be dehydrated, all on the floor, begging for water. >> we're not going to have a chance to show videos on tv. >> we'll talk a short break and be back in a moment.
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welcome back, everybody. you're watching "starting point." being called one of the most controversial debates in the country. spent days preparing, challenging each other on domestic policy, including the economy and health care on heels of a new nbc wall street journal poll that says the president's lead has shrunk to within the margin of error and also matches our cnn poll of polls. brand new battleground polls released from nbc news and "the wall street journal" as well match those polls. senior advisory for the romney campaign, barbara comstock. and that campaign's virginia co-chair. thank you for talking with us. how do you think this is going to go? >> good morning. >> tomorrow morning when we're talking about it, give me the
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breakdown. do you think mitt romney wins this by a landslide? >> well, listen, i think the press will probably -- no matter what happens, they can already write their stories, many of the mainstream press. what is going to be great tonight -- >> what do you mean by that? excuse me. forgive me for interrupting you. you said the main street press will be able to write their stories already, what do you mean by that? >> they've been cheerleading for barack obama for weeks now and i think they'll continue, but i'm not concerned about that. this will be the opportunity for mitt romney to talk directly to the american people without that filter and tell them about his plan for the next four years, because the american people, the american middle class know that they've been buried for the past four years, to borrow joe biden's phrase. theyave been buried by debt, the higher taxes and know they're going to be buried further. in my state of virginia, small businesses and families will get hit hard by the obama tax increases as well as the defense cuts. that's why we like the plan of
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mitt romney, which is going to, on day one, allow us to do things like the keystone pipeline, open up that. those are good high-paying jobs, reverse regulations on coal that have cut 1,200 jobs in virginia. also tell the state that -- >> excuse me. i was going to say, you think he's going to lay all of that out tonight in this 9 0-minute debate, all of those points? >> sure. he's going to be talking about how he's going to turn around the economy and how he's going to have an across the board tax cut for all americans to get rid of the loopholes and special interest things so that you can have a flatter fairer tax code for everybody and start economic growth again. this president, barack obama, thinks -- zblm people who crunched those numbers say that the math does not work out. >> no. soledad, that's incorrect. not many people. one left wing group that has obama people in it has said that. in fact, the american enterprise institute released a study that
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shows it's barack obama's plan that will increase taxes an average of, i believe it was, $4,000 a family. on january 1st, we know we're going to have the biggest tax increase in history that barack obama has allowed to go forward. >> that tax plan is not fundable, many groups have said. in fact, when fox news did an interview on that very subject, we know that the advise presidential candidate, paul ryan, said i don't have time to do the math for you. he did a very tough interview with chris wallace, trying to figure out the math behind that tax plan. so, it's not just one obama-led organization that says it doesn't work. there are a number -- >> the group that they have been putting their ads on -- listen, when you cut taxes -- this what we've done in virginia. we're the number one place for jobs. when you cut taxes and get money back into people's pockets, get it back into the small businesses, keep them in the states. keep the money in those businesses instead of sending it to washington, then you have
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economic growth. this president's stimulus failed, that trillion dollar spending got us higher unemployment, not lower. his health care bill has increased premiums by $2,000 to $3,000 a family, not lowered them. now he's going to increase taxes on us. his tax increases are going to kill 700,000 more jobs. >> you're certainly throw iing t a lot of numbers and lot of statistics, with which many people would completely disagree with you. unfortunately, we're out of time. >> i know you have your talking points but the 700,000 comes from an independent study that shows the president's tax increases will kill 700,000 jobs. >> i don't have talking points i have questions. i believe you have talking points and i would actually say people on both sides of the aisle have talking points and my job is to try to -- >> we have four years of -- you know, we have four years of experience of barack obama with doubling gas prices and unemployment at sustained highs.
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you have the experience of that. that's what the american people see. now they're going to get to hear from mitt romney, talk about his vision for the next four years to get the economy growing. they know that they've been buried. the middle class has been buried for the past four years. they know that experience. it doesn't matter how you want to spin it. the past four years, we're not better off. >> only one person who is spinning at this moment, and that would be you. but i appreciate you joining us. barbara comstock, always nice to talk with you. >> okay. thanks, soledad. >> appreciate that. you can watch the debate on cnn or go to cnn.com. other news? john berman has that for us. a pennsylvania judge has temporarily blocked the key component of that identification law. voters will not have to show a state of proof photo i.d. in order to cast a ballot in the presidential election.
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$165 million, this may sound like a steal. obama administration has decided to buy an empty illinois state prison once considered for relocating guantanamo bay prisoners. the facility will house high security federal inmates and alleviate overcrowding in other prisons. officials say it will not be used for any guantanamo detai e detainees, prohibited by law. plaguing lawmakers on capitol hill, five members of congress have reported break-ins at their offices on capitol hill. mike mcintyre, between august 3rd and september 11th, someone broke into his office and stole two bottles of scotch, three presidential easter eggs, two bottles of cologne and $1,000 worth of cuff links. that's a burglar with strange tastes. >> presidential easter egg? what is that? >> and serious cuff links. >> have a good party. it's like blues brothers.
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go on a road trip with that stuff. news anchor in lacrosse, wisconsin, who took on a viewer who personally attacked her in an e-mail, accuse jennifer livingston of being a poor example to girls because of her weight. this anchor called the viewer out. >> to the person who wrote me that letter, do you think i don't know that? that your cruel words are pointing out something that i don't see? you don't know me. you are not a friend of mine. you are not a part of my family and you have admitted that you don't watch this show. so you know nothing about me but what you see on the outside. and i am much more than a number on a scale. >> good for her. >> yay! >> that was just a sample. >> sister. >> for four minutes. >> i love her. still ahead this morning. she did not. they didn't let her. still ahead, a homeless man changes his life with his voice, credits the government for helping him succeed. we'll tell you that story, coming up next. this isn't just a headache.
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♪ welcome back, everybody. from homeless singer to opera star, his determination along with help from the government has changed his life. barbara starr is live from washington, d.c. with more on this story. good morning. >> good morning. with the debate tonight and the talk of 47% of americans too dependent on the government, i want you to meet a man who you might think fits that easy label but, really, is a powerhouse unto himself. ♪
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>> reporter: 31-year-old soloman howard sings to the rich and powerful. it has brought him here to the kennedy center, singing in mozart's don giovanni with the washington opera. it's as far away as you can get from this. one of washington, d.c.'s po poorest neighborhoods, where soloman grew up, the eldest of seven children. >> we lost our home. then stayed with families, different families. we sometimes would walk until we could find something, somewhere to stay. >> reporter: his family, part of the 47% referred to by republican candidate mitt romney in that controversial video addressing wealthy republican
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donors. but soloman says his mother and stepfather never thought it was the government's job to take care of them. >> they always, you know, instill great values and morals in us, to never give up and keep pursuing. >> after a life of food stamps and no health care, finally a teacher heard soloman sing. >> she said, no, i want you to try this. get serious about it and see what you have. >> reporter: there was a college scholarship, an audition before opera legend placido domingo. the help was needed, soloman says don't put him and his family in some category of easy labels. as a family that's been through it -- >> yes. >> reporter: when you see the country in this debate, the 47% question. >> right. >> reporter: what do you want people to understand about that? >> assistance is very important. i remember a few times where we
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ate off the salvation army food truck. if they hadn't been there, maybe i would have missed a meal that night or those few nights. what the government does for us here is very helpful. at the same time, we do have to take responsibility for ourselves. >> reporter: oh, by the way, this opera singer would also like to do other things. >> voiceovers. this is cnn. >> if everybody thinks they know the face of the 47%, think again. soloman will tell you that music and opera set him free from the first time that he started singing at the age of 3. he, no surprise, is a huge advocate of government-funded music education for children. he says the kind of help is vital and you never know what kind of gifts a young child has to offer. >> i like the way he said this
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is cnn. >> james earl jones. >> thank you. >> soloman wants you to know, that's his fantasy voiceover. >> i vote for him. thank you. appreciate it. let's eat, shall we? checking out the best food in the world, son of camilla parker bowles will join us to talk about his new cookbook in a moment. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.
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these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. mike rowe here at a ford tell me fiona, who's having a big tire event? your ford dealer. who has 11 major brands to choose from? your ford dealer. who's offering a rebate? your ford dealer. who has the low price tire guarantee... affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of res? your ford dealer. i'm beginning to sense a pattern. buy four select tires, get a $60 rebate. use the ford service credit credit card, get $60 more. that's up to $120. where did you get that sweater vest? your ford dealer.
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point." despite his connection to england's royal family, tom parker bowles has more than aristocratic taste. and prince charles is his
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stepfather. he also happens to be a food writer with a new book out called "let's eat:recipes from my kitchen notebook." the british aren't really known for their food. is that a misperception? >> i think it is a misperception. the idea of coming and writing -- if i came to america and said this is about english food, everyone would collapse into laughter, saying english food is boring. but it's not. it's simple. good ingredients treated well. we had a bad 50 years. but i promise you now, you go to london, there's some of the best food, smoked salmon, roast beef, bloody with yorkshire puddings. done well. >> can your mother, camilla parker bowles cook? >> she can. you wouldn't think she could. >> right. >> chicken, put a lemon up its
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posterio. you can say that on tv? >> yes. >> i want to give you a chance to meet a texan. you say here you love texas. you love their booze, food, their people. how did you use texas cuisine in this cookbook? how does it make its way into english food? chicken fried steak? >> i wouldn't tell a texan how to cook. there is pulled pork, that's more carolinas. i am obsessed with barbecue. >> you are an aristocrat. in the top schools. >> i suppose. >> he's being modest. >> would you say you prefer a high-end food, street food? >> street food straight out. philadelphia, philly cheesest k cheesesteak. nashville, hot chicken, that is amazing. everything. i can eat those towers and
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smears and all that sort of stuff, that's fine. i want to eat stuff from the street because it tastes nice. this is the stuff that makes you happy and it's food for the soul. >> pancake? >> anything. >> that's street food? >> there you go. >> the best down-home cooking, i think. i don't want to eat this wonderful stuff. you can eat that anywhere in the world, it's the same, whether in hong kong or uk. >> you say you're not a chef but a cook. >> chefs work in the kitchen, one person is on whatever -- i'm a cook. you're cooking for everybody. glass of wine, rock playing in the background and cooking. >> you had to find good barbecue in london, could you do it? >> there's one place. barbecue was brilliant in england, but they do good pulled pork and have a proper smoker. i miss barbecue.
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>> just e-mail. he can send you some fedex. >> sort of cable radio station but it has zeppelin. >> book is called "let's eat:recipes from my kitchen notebook." >> thanks for having me.
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it's time for end point. we have 45 seconds. who wants to start? >> michael, what have you got? >> i'm hungry and want barbecue. >> here is a cookbook. make your own. >> tax policy sternt that's not a left wing group that barbara comstock called them that. the romney campaign is in high talking point mode. >> she certainly is. yes, will cain, why are you grinning? >> i use the term way back when referring to the back of the plane. apparently

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